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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28562661">do you remember the times (that we believed)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/illresolve/pseuds/illresolve'>illresolve</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Familial Relationships, Found Family, Gen, Jedi Temple Bombing (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), One Shot, Platonic Relationships, ahsoka's mentioned but not present, idk what other tags kids use these days., if anakin and obiwan arent gonna have a healthy conversation than rex and cody sure as hell are</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:26:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,423</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28562661</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/illresolve/pseuds/illresolve</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>War rarely gives the chance to say goodbyes. The Temple bombing shattered any remaining illusion of normalcy on Coruscant, and Rex is left reeling from Ahsoka's decision to leave the Order.</p>
<p>(Takes place immediately after Season 5 finale)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>CC-2224 | Cody &amp; CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex &amp; Ahsoka Tano, No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>do you remember the times (that we believed)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>ahh okay god i haven't posted fic since like the summer of 2016 so...wow hm. anyways idk man this arc came out in 2013 and i haven't known peace since that fuckin day. anyways, hate that i have to continually reiterate this but there is nothing romantic here, if that wasn't made clear enough. i'm tired. please no shenanigans. </p>
<p>title stolen from a Rainbow Kitten Surprise song (Cocaine Jesus) bc i'm an illustrator of course i can't name shit!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was no news, for hours. The sun had set at least an hour before, although the room had no windows for him to see it happen. If he hadn’t checked his comms three separate times to make sure it was on and functioning as intended, Rex would wonder whether he’d missed a transmission. The rest of the battalion was back in the barracks, likely as anxious as him to hear the news. He waited in the cramped private quarters he’d been assigned as a commanding officer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt strange to him; even during their infrequent stints on Coruscant, he’d rarely made a point to spend time in the dim, stifling room. It smelled of dust and stale air, a sign of its vacancy, and his skin prickled at the silence of surrounding him. He much preferred sleeping in the barracks, with his men. That’s what he was used to, after all. There was always someone watching his back, and the quiet wasn’t so suffocating. But he couldn’t stay in there while waiting for the news. Whether the others were feeding off his nerves, or the other way around, the battalion’s presence grated on his patience and he took his leave not long after the council’s meeting had been set to start.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex knew he should have faith in the Council’s ability to mend their mistakes, but his charitability had withered in the days since the bombing. If he was honest with himself, his belief in most of the Order had withered long before the bombing, but that was a dangerous thought to give credence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As for Ahsoka, all he had seen of her in days was a gut-wrenching glimpse of her fleeing with Ventress, of all people, and her unconscious body sprawled on the ground after Wolffe stunned her. The last thing she’d seen of him, of any of them, was their pursuit, blasters drawn. Nevermind that his safety was on or how his hands shook.  Nevermind that he kept his helmet off on the airship in case she woke, so she could maybe see a familiar face in the madness, one that didn’t believe she was guilty. There had been no chance to wish her luck before the trial, much less sit in on the proceedings. The only clones allowed in were Guard troopers, as was practice with all other trials.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t even sure where she slept the night before. Surely they hadn’t brought her back to that cell block, after she’d been acquitted? But she still was formally expelled from the Order, her quarters were likely still off-limits to her. He wondered if she knew she would have been welcome to sleep in the barracks, with the troopers.  Probably not, she’d have no reason to believe that, after everything. And though he still was unsure what else he could have done, his part in it all made nausea bubble up in his stomach.</span>
</p>
<p><span>The sudden hiss of his door sliding open made him jump, but the sight of Cody’s familiar armor, stepping through the door brought none of the comfort he’d come to expect. Rex’s heart pounded, and he was on his feet, halfway across the room before Cody had gotten through the door. He’d come in with his hands free of the usual datapad, but gingerly carrying his helmet, his scarred face solemn. </span><span><br/></span> <span>"Where is she?" Rex didn’t remember making the decision to speak.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>"She's gone, Rex." The captain shot a wary glare his way, frozen where he stood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you mean she's gone? They had to have repealed her expulsion from the order, they took Offee into custody! They know-'' Cody's hand clasped to Rex's shoulder like a steady weight, but Rex looked past him, towards the door, like it held the answer he was looking for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No-- Rex." Cody’s voice was almost harsh now, grip tightening like he expected to have to hold him back. "She left. She didn't want to come back."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Cody, that's- that's crazy. She wouldn't just leave. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> we believed in her. That the general did, at least."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex still wouldn't look at him, eyes skirting the floor with a tense set to his jaw. He didn’t seem all that different from the off-balance and frustrated cadet Cody remembered from their training Kamino. It felt like it had been a lifetime ago. Cody pulled at Rex’s shoulder insistently, twisting him to face each other square on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know the details, Rex-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's got to be packing up her stuff, right? Where is she right now? I'll check in on her, see her off. She wouldn't leave without saying something-" It was wholly unlike him to cut someone off. Cody couldn’t help but wonder, for a second, if he was watching his brother break. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d watched a brother slip, but it was the first time he worried it would happen to Rex, even after Umbara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex had always been level-headed in a tense situation. It's why he'd made such a good captain. But in that moment, Cody didn't need to have known him most of his life to see the turmoil in his face. A pang, one-half frustration, one-half grief, racked through him.  He pulled Rex into a solid hug, arms bracing around his shoulders in a protective gesture. He could hear his brother's heart thudding against him, whatever he'd been about to say cut off in his throat. They didn't move from where they stood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"General Kenobi sent me to tell you, he's talking down Skywalker right now." Rex made a low noise of confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"General Skywalker's still...here...?" Cody pulled back to look at him with a strange look on his face, but his hands held firmly to his armored biceps in a reassuring presence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was just Com-” He had to stop himself and try again. “It was just Ahsoka. She wanted to go alone, I think.” Rex pulled away from Cody’s hands, starting to pace back a few steps as his face twisted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s just a kid!” He hissed, “You just let her leave by herself? With nothing?” His fists were clenched, twitching at his sides with exasperated fury and, despite his words, it was clear that he wasn’t talking to Cody. There was no question where the fault lay. “It’s not safe...” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex had cut himself off. He was silent for a time, turning the situation over in his mind, like the skilled tactician he’d always proven himself to be. Cody watched his brother helplessly, at a loss for words. Running a hand over his close-cropped, bleached hair, he’d exhaled a heavy sigh. His pacing had brought him to the far wall of the cramped room, where he leaned against the barren metal desk wedged in the corner. Wordlessly, he moved to activate his communicator, inputting the right frequency with practiced ease and spoke lowly into it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>--Brzzt--</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Commander Tano-- are you there?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing but static. Cody shifted somewhere behind him, uncomfortable. He waited a few seconds before trying again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>--Brzzt.--</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ahsoka? It’s Rex….” His jaw set as he focused on the flickering lights of his comm. “Please let me know if you can hear me.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still, there was no response. Part of him wanted to try a third time, but he knew there was no point. And Rex wasn’t sure he could take the ringing silence of static in an empty channel again. He jammed at the buttons to deactivate the comm, tugging off the gauntlet and tossing it onto the desk, uncharacteristically careless with it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody watched Rex, still useless and silent. What was there to say? He couldn’t understand fully, and he had no more answers than him. Truthfully, Cody knew he was too angry himself to have a chance at calming the rage that choked the air of the room. His brother paced back to the sparse bunk against the other wall, taking a seat as he tried to slow his breathing he’d barely realized had quickened. Cody moved to sit next to him, armored glove gripping his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rex- I’m…I’m really sorry.” He floundered for words, to find something less empty for Rex to take comfort in. “But she is going to be okay. You know how resilient she is. If she can survive a war zone, commanding troops at that, she’ll be fine as a civvie elsewhere. Give her time, she can come back when she’s ready. She knows where you are. Or you can go find her. The war’s going to end someday, I’m sure she’d appreciate the chance to see family again.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex nodded half-heartedly, hands clasped solemnly in his lap. A moment later and realization crashed over him. He let out an exhausted groan, resisting the urge to slump over and lean on his brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to tell the boys.” Cody grimaced at that, but nodded an affirmation. His hand squeezed Rex’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do…” He conceded, “but I’ll come with you. I...have a feeling General Kenobi is going to be occupied with Skywalker for a while.” Rex’s mouth twisted a bit bitterly at that. He scoffed a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know,” His armored hands twisted up to show the bare leather covering his palms. “I always figured General Skywalker would be the one to leave. Not her.” Cody watched him curiously at that, but Rex just shrugged. “Definitely didn’t think he’d bother staying if something happened with her. I can’t imagine General Kenobi is in for an easy time talking him down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody shrugged. “I think that’s why he gets to do it. They don’t assign a Jedi to just any shopping errand. The general’s had enough practice wrangling yours, by now.”  He jabbed a light elbow into Rex’s side, inticing a brief chuckle from him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clearing his throat, Rex shifted anxiously. He squared his shoulders, inhaling a deep breath as he tried to work up the nerve to step out of the room. “Should probably get ready to talk to the men…” He prodded when his brother stayed where he sat on the bunk. Cody shrugged, looking back to him, eyebrows raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Definitely-- soon.” He shot back at him, patting the spot next to him. “But taking a few minutes now to resituate yourself isn’t going to do any more damage.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex wanted to argue, found a deflection resting on the tip of his tongue, but he still felt the tension of adrenaline making his heart race and the tremors in his hands hadn’t quite subsided. He scoffed a bit, a half-hearted attempt to seem more disgruntled than relieved, and sagged back down onto the thing mattress. They sat in silence for a while, Cody’s unyielding presence the nearest thing to a reassurance he could get. The scarred plastoid of their shoulder pads brushed against each other and his brother slung an arm around his waist to pull him closer, resting his temple on the rigid plastoid of Rex’s shoulder. Rex hummed an acknowledgement, looking down awkwardly at his fidgeting hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The last memory she’s going to have of me- of any of us, is that we were willing to hunt her down. That we believed any of that.” Cody ignored the shaky breath that shook Rex’s shoulders, not moving from where he leaned against him. “Just mindlessly following orders-- I kept thinking, just wait until you get the chance, you can remind her. I figured, it’s better that me, Wolffe, someone who knows her helps.  And at the end of the day, I didn’t do </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The laugh that came from Rex lurches, choked and bitter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing. I did nothing, again. I just let it happen-” Cody interrupted him, sitting up to look back at him, brows furrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rex what do you think you could have done?” He countered. His brother shrugged helplessly, cursing the tears he felt gathering. “Let her get away? With Ventress, who could have gotten her killed? Broken her out of that cell, so you both could get charged with treason? Barged in on her trial with the Council so you could tell them exactly how you felt about the situation?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The absurdity of the image made Rex bite back a smile, despite everything. He shook his head, still not making eye contact with Cody, who shoved gently at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So stop acting like this is your fault. Rex, I don’t know that there was anything you </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>do. Listen- this war is messy. And it’s getting worse the longer it goes on. But you’ve stood by her for two years now, and even if she can’t see that right now, you did your job. She’s alive, isn’t she? And she’s grown a hell of a lot since she first got assigned to General Skywalker. Maybe she can’t see it right now, but the both of us know you did the best you could for her. Rex, you would never hurt her. Everyone knows that. She’s had a lot going on in all of this, even if she doesn’t realize now that that’s the truth, she will. Tano-- Ahsoka’s a good kid. Just give her time. One way or another things are going to work out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex’s gaze didn’t lift from his hands, but he nodded a little. “I-- yeah. Just...can’t stand the thought that she might think I doubted her. Not for a second.” The conviction in his voice surprised even himself. “I trust her more than I trust myself sometimes, I think. She’s got a good head on her shoulders…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody gave him a reassuring smile, knocking the side of his head into Rex’s, clunking temples together in a lazy headbutt. Rex grumbled, waving him off as he got to his feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop doing that, you’re going to give us both concussions. Don’t even have your bucket on to cushion that peanut brain of yours.” His brother barked out a laugh, getting up to follow him out of the quarters, to the barracks where his men waited.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut it, you just want me to put my helmet on so all the civvies can’t tell I’m the pretty one. You ready to go, ugly?” Rex groaned as he snagged his helmet and gauntlet on the way out the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Watch it or I’ll lock you in here. I’ll tell General Kenobi you defected, see if I can land myself a promotion.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah right, blondie. A promotion under the general would give you gray hairs. Stick to your lane.” They knocked shoulder pads together again before starting down the hall. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ok! that's it. just a little baby fic. :) anyways uh lmk what you think i suppose! you can follow me at bifurious-rex on tumblr. i post art on there. take care and stay safe yall.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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